State Briefs

Published: January 16, 2013 3:00 AM

COLUMBUS -- Criminal background checks processed by the attorney general's office under a new state law no longer include information about arrests and charges that didn't result in convictions.

But the changes have some officials worried that employers are being given a false sense of security about applicants.

In reaction, the state's criminal investigation agency will begin warning employers this week that background check information only includes convictions and guilty pleas.

[Article continues below]

The law was designed to make it easier for ex-offenders to find work after paying their debt to society.

It shields information about individuals who have been arrested but not convicted, information that used to be included in the reports.

That is affecting three categories of people: juveniles convicted of serious crimes that aren't required to be reported, adults with recent arrests whose cases haven't been concluded and adults who years ago violated their bail conditions and fled to avoid prosecution.

Ohio school to offer 3-year college degree option

TOLEDO -- Some first-year students at the University of Toledo will have the chance to get their undergraduate degrees in three years rather than four.

WTOL-TV in Toledo reports the College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences will offer all of its majors in an optional three-year format beginning next year.

Three-year options don't relieve students of the traditional responsibility of a four-year degree.

They still have to fulfill the traditional number of credit hours needed for a degree. But officials hope it will save students money.